


No Secrets

by MJ1999



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Coming Out, Gender Dysphoria, M/M, Misgendering, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, deadnaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 09:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MJ1999/pseuds/MJ1999
Summary: Mistoffelees always felt different than the other cats. The body he was born in didn’t match up with how he felt inside. He didn’t understand why everyone thought he was a queen. He knew he was a tom, why didn’t they? But as he aged, he began to understand the physical differences between queens and toms, and why he was never seen for who he truly is.But one day, he made the difficult and scary choice to try living as his authentic self.
Relationships: Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger (Cats)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	No Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: Mistoffelees gets deadnamed and unintentionally misgendered by Tugger in this fic. It also contains talks of gender dysphoria. If that stuff would bother you, this fic may not be for you.
> 
> Please keep in mind that I, a non-binary trans person, mean no harm with this one-shot. I only refer to Misto by his old name throughout the fic because he hasn't come up with his new name yet.

It was an autumn day in the junkyard and Quaxo was lounging atop an old car, enjoying the cool weather. It was the beginning of September, and there was not even a month left until the Jellicle Ball. As the date grew nearer, a hush fell over the yard as cats diligently prepared for their numbers, making costumes, composing music. Once in a while, you would hear a cat in their den, singing.

The silence was interrupted by a loud _bang_ as the Rum Tum Tugger hopped up onto the car, landing loudly next to Quaxo and startling him out of his relaxation.

Quaxo hissed, his fur standing on end. “ _Bast,_ Tugger, what’s the big idea!?”

“You seen your sister around anywhere?” Tugger asked, putting his paws on his hips and glancing around himself.

Quaxo tilted his head. “Sister?”

Tugger raised an eyebrow and gave Quaxo a smug smile. “Yes, _sister._ Your only sibling? _Misty?_ Little witch with a sassy streak? My best friend? Ring any bells?”

Just then, it hit Quaxo. “Oh! Yes! Yes, of course, I know who you mean! I-I think she’s…” It hurt him to say _she,_ “In her den. Probably practicing her dancing for the ball.”

“ _Hey,_ thanks, buddy! I’ll tell her you said hi.” Tugger gave Quaxo a wink and a finger gun before hopping off of the car and making his way across the yard.

***

Meanwhile, Misty stood in his den, staring into a mirror. Fluffing his chest fur and smoothing the fur around his hips, he took a good, long look at himself. No amount of smoothing could make his hips any smaller or hide his queenlike figure. He sighed and rested a paw on his head, messing up his neatly styled fur in the process.

Misty always felt different than the other cats. It wasn’t until he reached adulthood that he understood why. _He_ knew he felt like a tom. But everyone else looked at him… And saw a queen. The only cat he had ever told was his brother, Quaxo. He was always jealous of his twin, as he had been the lucky one to be born in a tom’s body and have his identity match up. All of Misty’s life, he had been called a queen. He had been given a traditionally female name, been referred to with female pronouns, and he was always daddy’s little girl.

It was the worst when he got pregnant. He had been with a tom who he thought loved him. But when he gave birth to seven little kittens in an old hat in the closet of his owner’s house, he could no longer find the tom anywhere. He’d been abandoned. And he didn’t want to be a parent. It was a relief when his owners took the kittens and found every one of them a good home. He never told anyone in the tribe, other than his brother, his father and Tugger, about the kittens. He was glad he could leave that period in his life behind him and focus on the future. Hopefully, a future where he would live authentically as the real him. The tom he knew he truly was.

But the tom standing before him in the mirror was not the tom he saw inside. Not the tom he wanted _them_ to see him as. But he had never met another cat like himself before. Would the tribe accept him if he told them? He couldn’t know for sure, and that terrified him.

Just then, he was startled out of his reverie by tapping on the entryway of his den. “Prettying yourself up for good ol’ Tugs?” a voice asked.

Misty turned around to see Tugger standing there in the doorway. “Oh! Tugger, it’s just you.”

“ _Just me!?_ How dare! My presence isn’t a _gift_ to you?” Tugger joked, leaning on the door frame.

“Heh…” Misty forced a laugh and sat down on a cushion laying on the ground.

Tugger’s humorous expression turned to concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He came over to sit next to his friend.

Misty looked at tugger with a solemn expression. “Tugger, you’re my best friend.”

“‘Course.” Tugger raised an eyebrow.

“A-and we tell each other everything. Right?” Misty continued.

“Yeah…” Tugger began to wonder what he was getting at.

“N-no secrets. No… _Judgement._ Right?”

“Definitely. Obviously. We can tell each other anything.” The large tom felt his stomach twist. Did Misty _know?_

Misty nodded. “Right. That being said… Tugger, I-”

“I love you,” Tugger interrupted.

“I don’t know how to say this but I _do_ know you’ll never judge me- Wait what?” Misty’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Wait, what were _you_ going to say?” Tugger asked, his face heating up. This was a mistake. He had _greatly_ misjudged the situation.

Misty was _very_ flustered at this point. Had Tugger really confessed his love? Tugger _loved_ him? He didn’t even know how to proceed at this point. “I… I don’t know what to say…”

Tugger put his face in his paws. “Just… Pretend I never said that. What did you want to tell me?”

“I mean… I can’t just pretend you didn’t say it. You _said it,_ Tugger.”

Tugger paused. “... How did you, um… _Feel_ about it?”

“... Well… I… Do… Have feelings for you… But… I don’t know if you’re… Going to reciprocate…”

“Well of course I do! I confessed first, didn’t I?”

“Yes but…” Misty sighed. “I’ve been feeling… Different… For a long time. My whole life.”

Tugger cocked his head to the side. “Different.”

“Yeah. Like I was… I dunno, born in the wrong body.” Misty looked to his feet, mumbling now.

“Oh yeah?” Tugger listened intently. He didn’t know what Misty was getting at, but he could tell it was important.

“I don’t… Feel like a queen. Inside… I feel like a tom. And it’s really confusing because I don’t understand why I have this body. Quaxo and I are both males. But he’s got the right body.”

Tugger sat for a moment, ruminating on what his best friend had divulged to him. This sure was new information. But it had to have been scary, coming out like this. He didn’t know what to say. He’d _always_ support his friends. No matter what. At a loss for the right words, all he did was smirk and say, “Well… I’m into toms as well. What do you want me to call you?”

“What?”

“Your name. Do you want to go by a more masculine name? Or is Misty okay?” He inquired.

“No,” Misty shook his head, “Don’t call me Misty. I don’t know… _What_ I want to be called… I didn’t think about that…”

“Well,” Tugger chuckled, “The naming of cats _is_ a difficult matter.”

***

It was the night of the ball and the tribe was in a panic. Old Deuteronomy had been kidnapped by the nefarious villain Macavity, and nobody knew what to do. A tuxedo tom with a new name was pacing back and forth, panicking. What would they do? How would they rescue their leader?

But just then, a voice sounded above the panic. A voice of hope, and comfort, in more ways than one. “You ought to ask magical Mr. Mistoffelees. The original _conjuring cat._ There can be no doubt about that.”

Mistoffelees watched as his friend, and now mate, sang his praises, using his pronouns, using his _name._ His true name. And as Tugger pointed up to him, signalling for him to make his grand entrance, Mistoffelees descended upon the tribe and gave a loud, “ _Presto!_ ” He was greeted not with jeers, but with _cheers!_

  
And as the tribe began to sing along, using his true name, seeing him for who he truly is, Mistoffelees knew… They loved him not for who they thought he was, but for who he _is._


End file.
